New Liberal Initiative holds fundraiser at Haven Social Club
By Mathew White
EDMONTON — The Haven Social Club is set to come alive Thursday with a performance by The Apollo Doctrine in support of the New Liberal Initiative.
“(We’re) very excited,” said Adam Ganton, lead guitar and vocals of The Apollo Doctrine. “It’s always nice to go to a place where there’s a bigger pool of people to pick from and not everyone in the crowd knows who you are.”
- Image supplied by www.thehavensocialclub.com/
The band, which formed in ‘06, comes from Vermillion, Alberta, where they play regularly.
“The crowds in Vermillion are usually packed to the walls just because we know the entire town. It’s one of those places,” said Ganton.
Thursday will be the Doctrine’s first show in the big city but Ganton says they already have plans on relocating to Edmonton sometime in September.
As far as what they sound like, Ganton said there’s really no way to describe it. He said they’re influenced by a number of heavy metal and folk bands, including Neil Young, Jack White and Rush.
“We try to take any kind of genre we like and throw it into one song,” said Ganton.
In addition to this being the band’s first show in Edmonton, it’s also a fundraiser for the New Liberal Initiative. But while the Ganton says the band’s political views don’t always line up with the Liberal Party’s policies, he says they are definitely liberal minded.
“I’ll go between any party that really believes in what I believe in,” said Ganton.
The New Liberal Initiative
It’s been described as an evolution out of the Awesome Committee, but essentially, the New Liberal Initiative is small group of Liberal Party members (both federal and provincial) who are trying to reorganize and rejuvenate Liberal Party policies across the country.
“After the May 2nd election, we kind of got feed up and decided that it’s time for the younger generation to have a really important say in the party,” said Corina Ganton, chairperson with the New Liberal Initiative and older sister to Adam Ganton.
The Initiative, although obviously supportive of the Liberal Party, actually has no direct affiliation with any political party in Canada. Ganton admits this has been a concern for a number of people as the group gains popularity, but maintains they are strictly a support system.
Currently the organization mainly operates out of Edmonton, meeting biweekly in the basement of the Alberta Liberal Party office, but they are hoping to expand and branch out to cities such as Vancouver, Calgary and Saskatoon.
The funds raised during Thursday’s show will go towards building start-up kits for these cities. Also, a portion will be directed towards the group’s website, as well as advertising costs.
